Yes, the Calgary Flames players know all about the long odds they’ve been given by bookies to win the Stanley Cup.

They may not be able to relay the exact numbers, but have heard how betting sites out there have the Flames down the ranks far enough only the New York Islanders and Columbus Blue Jackets are below them.

Flames forward Michael Cammalleri has a response, though, with recent history for ammunition.

“I heard this is one of the first years, if not the first year Las Vegas lost on (NFL) football,” Cammalleri said. “That’s sports, it’s completely unpredictable. I think people that guess right are lucky.

“It doesn’t bother us. If that’s what the experts want to say, that’s fine. We know we’re not a favourite, but we like our group. We like our team.

“Team is the important thing. We play a sport where team play is exemplified more than any other sport. If we can become a good team, those odds change quickly.”

Sure, the Flames are a franchise which has missed the playoffs in each of the last three seasons.

Likewise, it’s a club remarkably similar to last year’s squad, although there are a few changes attempting to increase the skill level as a whole.

But to put the Flames that low does seem extreme.

Canadian on-line betting website Bodog had the Flames at 50-1 odds to win the Cup, the same as the Winnipeg Jets, while the Islanders were 66-1 and the Blue Jackets were 100-1.

The Pittsburgh Penguins opened as the favourites at 8-1.

The web site sportsinteraction.com has the Flames at 67-1 Saturday night, and again the Islanders (81-1) and Blue Jackets (201-1) were the only bigger longshots.

“When the downward spiral starts turning on your team, it seems it goes all the way down,” forward Alex Tanguay said.

“I think our team’s better than people are expecting, but until we prove it on the ice, they’ll think that way about us.

“But we can’t worry too much about what they’re saying. We can do all the talking we’d like, but this game’s played on the ice. If it’s that way, well, so be it.”

With the upcoming 48-game season, so many variables could come into play with greater impact.

For example, a knee injury costing a star goalie or top scorer a month of action or more could result a player missing one-third of the year.

A extended hot streak — remember when the Flames opened the 2001-02 season with a run of 13-2-6? — could put a surprise team into the mix.

Throw in the coin toss-aspect of shootouts, and things could get crazy without the usual time for the league to settle.

“You look at the odds of any professional sports league in any given year. It’s easy to make assumptions at the start of the year, but until you’ve played half the season you don’t have a big judgement,” centre Blair Jones said. “It would be gratifying if we had a good start.”

Ultimately, time will tell whether the prognostications are correct, but as Cammalleri pointed out, it’s better for people to be talking about games, scores and results instead of the lockout.

“The media’s job is to gossip, talk about things, have stories, and that’s great because the fans love the game so much, and you want to do those things. You want to have a hot stove and talk about who’s good, who’s not, who’s going to win, who’s not going to win,” he said. “Different fans have different beliefs and that’s what makes it great, conversation and camaraderie.”

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Flames given long odds to win Stanley Cup

Yes, the Calgary Flames players know all about the long odds they’ve been given by bookies to win the Stanley Cup.

They may not be able to relay the exact numbers, but have heard how betting sites out there have the Flames down the ranks far enough only the New York Islanders and Columbus Blue Jackets are below them.

Flames forward Michael Cammalleri has a response, though, with recent history for ammunition.

“I heard this is one of the first years, if not the first year Las Vegas lost on (NFL) football,” Cammalleri said. “That’s sports, it’s completely unpredictable. I think people that guess right are lucky.

“It doesn’t bother us. If that’s what the experts want to say, that’s fine. We know we’re not a favourite, but we like our group. We like our team.

“Team is the important thing. We play a sport where team play is exemplified more than any other sport. If we can become a good team, those odds change quickly."